What Makes a Great Nurse

It's been said many times, "It takes all kinds to make this big 'ole world go 'round." Nurses come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and personalities. These different personalities make us each who we are, but which of these different traits make us good nurses? Nurses Announcements Archive Article

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BostonTerrierLover, BSN, RN

1 Article; 909 Posts

Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

Not exactly there pricharilla, wait one sec. There is this Army nurse that came to work with us at my little close minded hospital. She was very opinionated as well.

If I thought red, she proved it was blue. If I thought it was up, with my unit behind me, she dryly showed me it was down. She didn't have one ounce of empathy, compassion, or sweetness to her name (not saying you don't, just using her unpopular ways), and then-one day it hit me- she's one hell of a nurse! She can code like a pro, she knows her stuff, she doesn't cut corners, works circles around the other staff members, and took it personally if a treatment regimen wasn't working.

Her politics were sooooo foreign to my conservative, southern, and mostly spoon-fed views of the world. I learned what it takes to be a great nurse isn't a list of qualities, or a charming/empathetic caregiver- it's more complex. Her skill and tact were unmatched. When she got called to a second tour of duty- everyone else realized they would miss her too.

You see, it's the sum of all the parts that makes it awesome, and if all our beliefs, all our values, and all our interpretations were the same-Allnurses.com would be a monotonous place to be. I hope you know I appreciate your input, and I will keep an open mind. There are other members of the medical, nursing, psychological, and scientific field that believe the same way you do, so while I currently disagree- I certainly respect your stance. I have.

Thus far I have changed my mind on the death penalty, criminal rehabilitation methods, Women's rights, the American Justice System, and so much more- so see, a closed minded Southern boy can see the light too. But your opinion is worth just as much as mine, and I appreciate it as a Valid one, and no one has lost a "debate" here.

Theoretically, if I was in overdose, I wouldn't care "what" my nurse "believed," but "what" she "knows" and her/his ability to save my tail. Thank-you for your patience.

Not exactly there pricharilla, wait one sec. There is this Army nurse that came to work with us at my little close minded hospital. She was very opinionated as well.

If I thought red, she proved it was blue. If I thought it was up, with my unit behind me, she dryly showed me it was down. She didn't have one ounce of empathy, compassion, or sweetness to her name (not saying you don't, just using her unpopular ways), and then-one day it hit me- she's one hell of a nurse! She can code like a pro, she knows her stuff, she doesn't cut corners, works circles around the other staff members, and took it personally if a treatment regimen wasn't working.

Her politics were sooooo foreign to my conservative, southern, and mostly spoon-fed views of the world. I learned what it takes to be a great nurse isn't a list of qualities, or a charming/empathetic caregiver- it's more complex. Her skill and tact were unmatched. When she got called to a second tour of duty- everyone else realized they would miss her too.

You see, it's the sum of all the parts that makes it awesome, and if all our beliefs, all our values, and all our interpretations were the same-Allnurses.com would be a monotonous place to be. I hope you know I appreciate your input, and I will keep an open mind. There are other members of the medical, nursing, psychological, and scientific field that believe the same way you do, so while I currently disagree- I certainly respect your stance. I have.

Thus far I have changed my mind on the death penalty, criminal rehabilitation methods, Women's rights, the American Justice System, and so much more- so see, a closed minded Southern boy can see the light too. But your opinion is worth just as much as mine, and I appreciate it as a Valid one, and no one has lost a "debate" here.

Theoretically, if I was in overdose, I wouldn't care "what" my nurse "believed," but "what" she "knows" and her/his ability to save my tail. Thank-you for your patience.

Thank you, BostonTerrierLover.

I meant that I would learn to curb my opinions in a pt setting :)

I'm sorry, but AN readers are probably still stuck hearing it from time to time ;)

BostonTerrierLover, BSN, RN

1 Article; 909 Posts

Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

Really good listeners (readers) to bounce an idea off of, lol!:)

KyleLVN

13 Posts

I doubt I'd take a pain reliever, unless I was seriously injured like both my legs were broken. Though I had braces one time and just had them adjusted, and I took half a vicodin when I was 17, I still had pain all day. Braces hurt.

KyleLVN

13 Posts

That's very true, A Nurse to me should be, stoic, compassionate, empathetic, and non judgemental.

azalight90

51 Posts

I know I am only a student but this video drives the sort of nurse I want to be. You need to watch from 3:15 to 12min. Have a look:

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 5,115 Posts

That's very true, A Nurse to me should be, stoic, compassionate, empathetic, and non judgemental.

I find it very, very, very depressing to see that the popular vision of excellence in nursing never includes "smart, well-educated, good judgment, expert."

Grace04

3 Posts

I love to see all this debating going on related to addiction. We as a society are just scratching the surface related to Chemical dependency, and mental illness. The two quite often go hand in hand. What saddens me is to hear Nurses say they do not judge, give their hard line opinion, then state they would take care of "Them" anyway. Well, "Them" are someone's Son, Daughter, Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Spouse, Friend. Unfortunately, until this horrible disease affects one where it hurts, understanding will not occur. In life, and especially as Nurses, we LEARN compassion through experience, EMPATHY, rather; you either have, or you do not. When you practice Empathy, it doesn't matter what perceived choice your patient made or didn't make. In that moment, they are looking to you to be their advocate. Yes, there are many who abuse the system...How many will be punished out of assumptions, judgement, and personal perspective not left at the door, who simply hurt? We do not know another's story, just as they do not know ours, and unless one CHOOSES to share their story, it's not our business. Focus on the moment, not what we believe led to them being our patient in that moment, and you have an amazing opportunity to extend a Nurses kindness that may just change that persons life. Peace

kungpoopanda

215 Posts

I find a lot of nurses extremely judgemental, particularly of other nurses.

Hi, Good article. I am only still in the pre-req stage in my journey, but there is one thing about your article that REALLY, and I mean REALLY bothers me. It is about addiction being a disease... Now, even if the medical and nursing community can TECHNICALLY give a million reasons why a pt's addiction is similar to (or, as is claimed) an ACTUAL disease, I have to point out a certain piece of information that is akin to shouting " The Emperer has no clothes..." These addicts CHOSE to take whatever substance they are addicted to that first (or second, or third or 50th time...), knowing that the possibility of them becoming addicts existed.

I know as an aspiring Nurse that I'm supposed to sympathize with these people-and make no mistake, once I am an RN I will do what is expected of me regardless of my personal feelings- but they made their bed, and now they expect the rest of us to lie in it with them... I'm sorry but I don't agree. Many of these addicts are going to the ER on the taxpayers dime, and I personally think that this needs to stop.

Many people say addiction starts out as a choice...it is understandable to some degree.

Now let me tell you my story...

I've been in the nursing field for 15 years, staring out as a CNA. I'm 37 years old and I NEVER even tried drugs. I always thought if you tried drugs just one time you will be an addict and end up living on the street with nothing...not even teeth (teeth are my big thing)! The first time I drank alcohol I was 25. I had a pretty hard life struggling as a teen mom, abused wife and so on and on (another story for another time). Needless to say I had a million reasons to start a path in a different direction than the one I choose and worked very hard to get where I am at. So, at the age of 30 my hips started popping and began to hurt especially my left hip. My doctor diagnosed it as bursitias. Over the next 5 years it continuelly got worse. My doctor prescribed me Norco. I took it occasionally for pain. During the 5th year after my diagnosis the pain was really bad and I was taking Norco on a daily basis. By this time it was hurting so bad I was taking quite a bit of it. I was going to the doctor often and the doctors started treating me like I was just a drug seeker. I finally got my doctor to refer me to Ortho. I had X-Rays, cat scan, fluoroscopy, and finally a MRI. The Ortho doctor diagnosed me with arthritis. By this time I was in so much pain I was taking a ton of Norco I continued to go to the doctor for the horrific pain and they were still treating me as if I were just a drug seeker. I assume they were thinking that a young healthy 35 year old could not be in that much pain. The doctor finally offered me the choice of having hip arthoplasty. I immediately said yes. By this time I was in so much pain I would have done anything for just any kind of relief. Finally, after my surgery the doctor realized how much pain I was in and why. He shaved the femur head and neck, cut a big chunk of bone out and cut off all the tears in the labrum. He also said my femor was so irritated and was actually red. After the surgey I was about 99% pain free! The doctor also said it was one of the most successful surgeries as most of the time the pain is only relieved to a certain point not completely gone. It was so great to finally be pain free! But. By that point I had been taking Norco for 5 year and towards the end I was taking so much (WAY WAY WAY to much) just to relieve the pain.

As I said I never did any type of drug ever my whole life. The doctor prescribed me something to relieve the pain and after 5 years I was treated like a drug seeker and never did they try to fix the problem but only treat the symptoms and over time they didn't even think I had a pain problem only a drug problem.

I had my surgery 2 years ago. It has been such a struggle ever since.i did rehab and stopped using but every day is still a struggle. I fight the addiction and severe depression. The hardest part for me to deal with is that I spent 30 years never doing drugs because I never wanted to be addicted to any type of drug, but yet I ended up addicted to drugs because my doctor prescribed me them and never taking the time to actually figure out what the real problem was.

With all that being said it bothers me when people say addicts chose their addiction. I didn't choose to be an addict, I choose to trust my doctor! If I knew then what I know now maybe I could have made different decisions and been more proactive in demanding my doctor do more than give me pills. But, you can't unring the bell!

I would love for people to give me their honest opinions about my situation but please don't be mean or disrespectful!

Tenebrae, BSN, RN

1,951 Posts

Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
Hi, Good article. I am only still in the pre-req stage in my journey, but there is one thing about your article that REALLY, and I mean REALLY bothers me. It is about addiction being a disease... Now, even if the medical and nursing community can TECHNICALLY give a million reasons why a pt's addiction is similar to (or, as is claimed) an ACTUAL disease, I have to point out a certain piece of information that is akin to shouting " The Emperer has no clothes..." These addicts CHOSE to take whatever substance they are addicted to that first (or second, or third or 50th time...), knowing that the possibility of them becoming addicts existed.

A way to describe addiction from an addicts point of view. Its like the dog who thinks its taking its owner for a walk and realises actually its on a choke chain. I realised I had an addiction to sleeping pills after being on them every night for 18 months. My GP was brilliant in terms of helping me to get off the infernal things. No one would ever know now this RN had an active addition

I know as an aspiring Nurse that I'm supposed to sympathize with these people-and make no mistake, once I am an RN I will do what is expected of me regardless of my personal feelings- but they made their bed, and now they expect the rest of us to lie in it with them... I'm sorry but I don't agree. Many of these addicts are going to the ER on the taxpayers dime, and I personally think that this needs to stop.

No, you are expected to have empathy with people. Empathy is empowering, sympathy is not. It can be really easy to sit in judgment of people who's circumstances we dont under stand. And to be honest judgement from health professionals is not remotely helpful

When I was on my paediatricts placement, we had a young patient whose mum was put on home D. Now mum was supposed to be with her kid but kept naffing off and never anywhere to be found.I really really wanted to smack this woman after her child had a painful procedure and they just lay without crying or whimpering where as other kids the same age were screaming the ward down.

I realised that while judging people is easy, walking along side them and empowering them to make different decisions is far harder but heck its rewarding.

So please do your future patients a favour and loose the judgementalism. Its not remotely helpful and can be very harmful

Tenebrae, BSN, RN

1,951 Posts

Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
Hi Op. I apologize for taking your post in a direction that you had not intended it to go. I understand that you meant this to be a source of reference and inspiration, and again I did not mean to shift it away from that focus.

I would like to explain why I feel the way I do. Not that I'm apologizing, but so you all can at least kind of understand why I feel the way I feel. I'll start by telling you that I grew up around these people. In fact nearly ALL of my family are addicts of some form or another. I grew up watching them (this includes my mother and step dad, both of whom I loved very much) nodding off and passing out and dropping right in front of me-public and private-on a regular basis..

Sorry for what you grew up around.

One thing that is important for being a brilliant RN is being able to put our own experiences into context and realising how they impact our practice. They do not give us the right to sit in judgement of our patients because we dont agree with their life choices

And the reality is people aren't silly, and judgmental health professionals arent exactly subtle. A non judgmental nurse can be the difference between life and death